Recent stories about the struggle of Target to connect with Canadian consumers as initially hoped in the nine months since its first locations north of the U.S. border have generated plenty of comments.

But one question in particular has increasingly come up as more people in this country have checked out the merchandise:

How come the stores are never playing any music over the speaker system?

“Target likes to provide its guests with the optimal shopping experience which includes a distraction-free shopping experience,” explained Lisa Gibson of Target Canada.

“That means that you won’t hear music playing or see palettes of merchandise blocking the aisles. The stores are clean, bright and distraction-free.”

Nonetheless, a distraction is possible if other customers nearby are talking, or employees are chatting amongst themselves. Also, the lack of music amplifies every sound made in the process of rummaging through racks or stocking shelves.

Some money is saved in the process of keeping things relatively silent, though.

A background music license from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) would currently cost $15,471 per year for a 135,000 square foot store — the typical size of a Target location. So, that is an annual $2-million and change that the company does not have to spend.

Similar amounts are paid by most other big box retailers on the premise that music playing through a store is considered to be good for sales — as reflected in the number of radio stations that flip to an all-Christmas format in December.

The question of a lack of music at Target has come up elsewhere, to the point where it was newsworthy when the smaller CityTarget stores in downtown Chicago, L.A. and Seattle launched last year with a background playlist unlike the over 1,700 full-sized locations across the U.S.

Whether this imported custom survives as Target attempts to make a greater impact with Canadian shoppers remains to be seen — but the lack of music might also seem like a blessing given the onslaught of Christmas music piped into just about every other store over the next month.